Allegations of Child Abuse - whether individual or multiple children, family or institutional, we conduct objective evaluations or such complaints and assess the damages stemming from complaints we find confirmed by forensic studies

Fellow and Diplomat of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Distinguished Life Fellow

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Certified in Psychoanalysis for Adults, Children and Adolescents by the American Psychoanalytic Association and the New York Psychoanalytic Institute

Dr. Kliman won the International Literary Prize for Best Book concerning the Well Being and Nurture of Children, "Responsible Parenthood" and is the recipient of grants from over 50 private foundations and The National Institute of Mental Health.

His research interests include the Psychological Trauma and Treatment of Severely Disturbed Children and their families, in-classroom psychotherapy.

Preventive psychiatry is a branch of preventive or public health medicine. It aims to promote good mental health in individuals and to prevent the occurrence or reduce the incidence of psychiatric disease in a population.

Here you will meet several children helped by Cornerstone who suffered from tragic losses and tragic circumstances. This chapter is essentially practical in its orientation to technique, describing several forms of treatment of bereaved children, with a minimum of theoretical essay. Probably the best definition of "mourning" for our current purposes is, "the totality of reaction to the loss of a loved object."

Dr. Danny Allen, Consultant Adult Psychiatrist is fully trained and experienced in report writing and regularly appears as an Expert Witness in Family Proceedings. Dr. Allen is an Approved Clinician, approved under Section 12(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 and a Cardiff University accredited Expert Witness and a member of the Expert Witness Institute, the Academy of Experts and the Society of Expert Witnesses. He holds consultancies with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Workplace Health (Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust) The Maidenhead Clinic, Phoenix Mental Health Services/Cardinal Clinic and BMI The Shelburne Hospital.

Dr. Allen appears in court regularly in public law cases. He has undertaken a number of high profile cases for Customs and Excise and the Crown Prosecution Service, including alleged rapes and murders. Dr. Allen provides services for lawyers, social services and businesses. His reports are also available to Employment & Housing Tribunals and Employers and Licensing Authorities.

Dr. Robert Evans, PhD, is a Licensed School Psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the behavioral sciences, including completing over 100 Child Custody Evaluations.

Dr. Evans serves as a consultant to the medical, legal, and law enforcement community in Florida on Psychological and Educational matters. He consulted with Orange County Public Defender with cases involving arrest and incarceration of children, including Competency Assessments and Insanity Determinations. He has also provided Critical Incident Stress Debriefings to victims of crime in the Central Florida area.

Litigation Support - Dr. Evans specializes in Parental Alienation cases which are commonly among those classified as High Conflict Divorce cases and he has written a book on Parental Alienation. He provides litigation support to counsel for both Plaintiff and Defense. His services include support with hearing / trial preparations, review of current evaluations, and support during and after the litigation process.

Charles H. Heller, PhD, is a Forensic Psychology Expert with over 35 years of experience in his field. Dr. Heller is currently on staff at Rutgers University Biomedical Health service, specializing in criminal behavior and risk assessment. He also serves as a forensic psychologist consultant for the Rockland County (NY) court evaluation service, where he has performed hundreds of child custody, as well as criminal competency and child abuse/neglect evaluations.

Litigation Support - Dr. Heller specializes in conducting custody evaluations, providing the review and analysis of potentially mitigating circumstances in connection with criminal behavior, and providing consultation to attorneys regarding civil litigation. He has extensive court experience in Civil, Criminal, and Family Court cases.

Dr. Heller is a fully vetted and approved forensic psychologist for the NJ Office of the Public Defender as well as other Public Defender offices. (Federal Public Defender, Legal Aid in Manhattan, Bronx, Kings and the NYC assigned counsel program). He often travels throughout the US as a forensic consultant in important court cases including military Court Martials, death row assessment, sexual abuse, assault and multiple homicides. He is well known and respected among his colleagues as a clinician and as a forensic psychologist/expert witness.

Civil Litigation - (Emotional and Mental Injury) - Dr. Heller is retained by both plaintiff and defense counsel to assess plaintiffs for emotional and mental injury. He takes an unbiased, ethical approach to assessments and is not "a hired gun." He is an expert in objective evaluations that assess the probability the plaintiff is suffering PTSD, other emotional injuries, or if there is exaggeration of symptoms based upon psychological testing and other data. He has expertise in cases that involve group home / residential schools, provider negligence, and assaults.

Criminal Litigation - Dr. Heller is experienced in providing successful rebuttal testimony explaining the scientific issues related to the problems of validity, reliability, and usefulness of "Syndrome evidence" such as "Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome" and "Rape Trauma Syndrome." He testifies in child sexual abuse cases and explains research related to false allegations, recantations, memory, suggestibility, child testimony, interview protocols, and "Believed-In Imaginings" in children and adults. He has expertise in domestic violence and has assessed women who have been victims of intimate partner violence and "Battered Women Syndrome" that contributed to homicides, assaults, and other felonies by the victims of abuse.

Dr. Jane K. McNaught, PhD is a locally and nationally recognized Board Certified Psychological Forensic Expert specializing in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with adults and children. Over the course of her more than 30 years of practice, she has worked with Defense and Plaintiff attorneys and has also been a Court appointed expert. Dr. McNaught has administered more than 2,000 psychological test batteries and testified on over 500 occasions as a forensic expert in the areas of: Civil, Criminal, and Family Law. She also provides trial consultation for attorneys. Dr. McNaught has further been qualified and testified as an expert in PTSD, for both the U.S. Army as well as the U.S. Navy and . In addition she has testified as an expert in both District and Federal court.

Dr. McNaught practices in the areas of Civil, Criminal, and Family Law cases involving trauma to both adults and children. In the Civil area, Dr. McNaught is frequently hired as an expert when there are allegations of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She also testifies in Employment cases involving Age or Sexual Harassment where PTSD is alleged. She has further testified in the following types of civil cases where PTSD is alleged: motor vehicle injuries; dog bite and amputation. Medical malpractice; Wrongful Death; and Infant death cases. Dr. McNaught has been hired in cases of alleged sexual misconduct within institutional settings such as schools, Churches including the Catholic Church, Treatment Centers, and hospitals.

In the Criminal area, Dr. McNaught is hired by both the Prosecution as well as Defense in cases involving Sexual Misconduct. She also conducts evaluations of Defendants in criminal cases where underlying psychological conditions may impact sentencing. Dr. McNaught has further been obtained as an expert to evaluate the credibility and reliability of statements obtained from alleged victims of sexual assault. When doing so, Dr. McNaught addresses the following: recantation, memory research, standard of care in interviewing victims of sexual abuse.

In the area of Family Law, Dr. McNaught specializes in high conflict divorce and conducts Custody Evaluations as well as Evaluations regarding: Relocation; Endangerment; Factitious Disorder by Proxy; Parental Capacity; and Parental Alienation.

Physical traumas such as a serious burn injury can be profoundly traumatic. Serious burns result in sudden unanticipated trauma related to the individual's exposure to a potentially life-threatening experience. One day the burn victim begins their day like any other, and by the end of the day the burn victim's life may be changed forever by the traumatic event experienced. A Forensic Psychological Expert utilizes well respected psychological tests to assess the emotional impact of such injuries. The psychological tests employed are statistically reliable and valid. The choice of valid and reliable psychological tests employed by a Forensic Psychologist are similar to tests used by a physician to diagnose diabetes or other medical disorders. Such tests offer norms that compare the individual in question to a large normative sample, in order to evaluate the burn victim's psychological functioning compared to that of the "normal" person.

When divorce occurs in the family, an inevitable loss occurs in the lives of the parents as well as children. Positive adjustment to divorce comes when both of the parents as well as the children develop healthy coping methods to deal with the loss. This enables both parents and children to move forward with their new lives. Unfortunately, many parents who suffer from their own disturbed attachment history or mental health issues, are unable to put aside their anger and constructively cope with the loss. In such cases, parents often undermine the children's relationship with the other parent, in order to express their own unresolved parental anger and sadness about the divorce.

Formerly this disorder has been referred to as Munchausen by Proxy and later, Factitious Disorder by Proxy. In the current version of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Criteria, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V), the disorder is referred to as Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another, (DSM-V 300.19). The perpetrator and not the victim is given this diagnosis. The victim is given an abuse diagnosis.

Forensic Psychologists can assist both Plaintiff and Defense lawyers in their assessment of the emotional damages related to traumatic injuries with adults as well as children. PTSD in children and teens is caused by events that have caused them or someone else to be killed or badly injured. Not all children develop PTSD after a traumatic injury. 3-15% of girls and 1-6% of boys develop PTSD in response to a traumatic experience. Rates of PTSD are higher for certain types of trauma survivors. Nearly 100% get PTSD if they see a parent being killed or if they see a sexual assault. 90% of sexually abused children develop PTSD; 77% of children who see a school shooting develop PTSD; and 35% of children who see violence in the area they live, develop PTSD (National Center for PTSD in Children and Teens).

Amputation is an injury involving loss of function, loss of sensation, and loss of body image. It is not surprising amputees often suffer psychological difficulties following such an event. Further, these psychological difficulties can also result in long term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for the amputee. Often these psychological injuries and resultant PTSD can be difficult to explain to a jury. The forensic expert's presentation of psychological testing assessing potential PTSD is one part of proving or disproving damages. However, the forensic expert can better assist either the Defense or Plaintiff's attorney by addressing specific functions in the amputee that have been affected by the injury.

James Tyler Carpenter, PhD, FAACP, is a Board Certified (Clinical) Licensed Psychologist Provider. Dr. Carpenter’s training began with latency age children, adolescents, and their families. It has evolved over almost 30 years of professional practice to include assessment, treatment, teaching, supervision, consultation, and research.

Dr. Carpenter has held academic, research, and teaching appointments at Harvard University, Medical School, and Extension Schools, as well as Boston, Lesley, Roger Williams Universities, Massachusetts School for Professional Psychology, and the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance. He has published, taught, supervised, served as an editorial consultant, and presented on the topics of subliminal stimulation, meditation based psychotherapies, group psychotherapy, integrating techniques, the use of translators in forensic assessments and treatment, group treatment of violent offenders, assessment of suicidal patients, psychopathology, theories of psychotherapy, personality, and the recidivism of released inmates.

Litigation Support - Dr. Carpenter has received forensic expert witness training and experience. He has performed Risk Evaluations and testified for both the defense and the prosecution on Psychosis, Treatment, and Homicide. His assessment skills extend to the full range of psychometric instruments involved in assessing personality, psychopathology, risk, impairment, and cognitive compromise as applied to forensic-clinical and disability assessment.

Dr. Michael J. Perrotti, Ph.D, a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, specializes in Clinical and Forensic Psychology. He has over 30 years of experience with consumers, courts, and counsel including civil, prosecution, defense counsel, family court and the US Government. Dr. Perrotti contributes to the profession as an Expert Witness for the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, Enforcement Division, Board of Behavioral Science Examiners and is a government expert on disability for the Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings & Appeals as well as the US Department of Health & Human Services. Dr. Perrotti was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at the Keck School of Medicine, USC (2005-2006).

Dr. Perrotti possesses specialized training and expertise in the area of Assessment of Sexual Deviation and Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations. His training, experience and use of the Abel Assessment of Sexual Interest Computerized Test from the Abel Center in Atlanta, Georgia, enables him to add a state-of-the-art sophisticated tool for the evaluation of sexual offending.

Dr. Perrotti was appointed a government expert for the Office of Hearings and Appeals for the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services. He has been a Expert Consultant on T.V. shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigations, Numbers, and Vanished. Dr. Perrotti is a part of a cadre of psychologists who assisted the San Bernardino Juvenile Court with the establishment of risk factors and protocols for the evaluation of juvenile sex offenders. Dr. Perrotti is a member of the Orange County Sheriff's Reserve, Professional Services Division.

Services Include:

Neuropsycholgical Assessment

Sanity / Competency to Stand Trial Assessment

Police Misconduct

Suggestibility Testing

Crime Scene Investigation in Report Formulation

Sexual Predator Determination

Effects of Psychotropic Medications on Confession

Expert Neuropsychologist in Sexual Assault Trial

Disability Determination for Social Security Office of Hearings & Appeals

Expert in Bonding Studies and False Confessions

PTSD (acute and complex) in General, Law Enforcement, and Iraq War Veterans

Defense counsel is frequently presented with the problem of a client protesting their innocence and accusers, perhaps multiple accusers, leveling allegations of sexual assault against the client. Of course, with defendants facing severe legal consequences, complaints need to be evaluated as to their reliability and validity.

Proper interviewing Protocols are critical to maximize information-gathering as well as accuracy of information in criminal and National Security investigations. Police procedures incorrectly assume that promoting physical close proximity with an interviewer (eg, Inbau, Reid, Buckley, & Jane, 2013) will induce subjects to become more forthcoming.

Unlike in Alzheimer's Disease, neurofibrillary tangles in athletes with CTE tend to accumulate perivascularly within the superficial neocortical layers. It is interesting to note that TAU pathology in CTE is partially and extensively distributed, possible related to multi-directional mechanical force from physical trauma (McKee et al, 2009; Neuropath Exp Neurol 68, 709-35.) It is theorized that accumulation of hyperphosphor is related to a protein that is thought to result in development of CTE and associated neurobehavioral disturbances.

Just this month, an article appeared in the Journal of Neuropsychology entitled "Early Onset Marijuana Use is Associated with Learning Inefficiencies." Young adults reporting early onset marijuana use have learning weaknesses, which accounted for the association between early onset marijuana use and delayed recall.

The recent editors of Myers on Evidence of Interpersonal Violence (Myers 2016) notes that the most well-known of psychological instruments to assess suggestibility is the Gudjohnson Suggestibility Scales (GSS). The GSS is utilized by psychologists to evaluate whether defendant's confessions were voluntary. The author notes that it is doubtful that these instruments are sufficiently reliable for use in legal proceedings. It is noted that in Shanklin, 379 111 Dec 211 the trial judge did not err in subjecting the GSS to a Frye Henry.

The public understanding of TBI is so poor that it is officially referred to by the US National Center for Injury Prevention and Control as "the silent epidemic." In the acute phase, the usual radiological examinations are not sensitive to TBI and diffuse axonal injury (DAI). There is a significant amount of false negatives with CT scans administered in the ER.

The author recently had a chapter accepted for publication on Methodology for Conducting Bonding Studies in Child Custody Evaluations (CCE). This chapter was written in response to the requests of many psychologists over the years who wanted guidance in procedures for conducting bonding studies. Many psychologists conduct bonding studies with cursory observations of parent and child. There is no application of an objective scoring system or any methods that can be replicated by other CCE Evaluators. This is essential in science.

This week marked the enshrinement of Junior Seau in the NFL Hall of Fame. Junior was an outstanding linebacker for USC who went onto great accomplishments in the NFL. However, all was not well. The effects of domestic violence, substance abuse and gambling difficulties; as reported on ESPN's Outside the Lines, took the toll on Junior. He repeatedly complained to a friend who was a fellow player and suffered from headaches, how he too, suffered for years from headaches. ESPN noted that he was reported to have been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neuro-degenerative disease that can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression. Gina Seau reported that Junior's disease was associated with head-to-head collisions caused from 20 years of playing in the NFL. This scenario affected his ability to think logically.

To determine if there are any changes in self-concept, locus of control and frequency of aggressive behaviors in juvenile offenders. As a function of receiving Direct Decision Therapy (DDT). Sub-objectives are whether DDT will effect positive change in self-concept, higher interval control and significantly fewer aggressive behaviors.

Recently the examination of the brain of Junior Seau revealed the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The recent diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after examination of the brain of Junior Seau underlines the seriousness not only of repetitive brain trauma in professional sports and in military populations but also raises continuing serious questions about the management and prevention of CTE in athletic sports.

Prosecutors and law enforcement are frequently confronted with situations wherein children have been traumatized and/or injured. These injuries have resulted in disabilities which affect the child’s ability to understand questions as well as express answers to questions.

It is a matter of utmost importance that an even playing field be created in adversarial proceedings. What is conducive to this is use of forensic guidelines as standards by all experts involved in a case.

There has been great voiced concern by practitioners and researchers over overcategorization and overgeneralization of individuals accused of sexual offending being lumped into one category of "sexual predators." Whereas there certainly is a need for protection of children from predators in our society, the pendulum has swung too far to the extreme.

Recently the Oregon Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, upended how eyewitness identification is to be used in criminal trials. The article in The New York Times (2012) indicated that misidentification is the country's leading cause of wrongful conviction.

The issue of children's memory is contentious. Some individuals assert that if a child says something, therefore it must be true. However, the research shows that this certainly is not the case. Human memory is not an exact recording of an event(s).

All too often one sees survivors of abuse all categorized under the rubric of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As Herman, in a paper on complex PTSD, notes (1992), PTSD formulation fails to capture the sequelae, acuity, and severity of prolonged, repeated trauma.

Freeman et al. (2005) noted that it was in the mid-'80s when it was first noted that mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) could result in serious and lasting consequences. Numerous studies with human and animal subjects have demonstrated the evidence of neurocognitive defects and delayed return to work in MTBI patients with postconcussive syndrome.

The recent death by suicide of Junior Seau of the San Diego Chargers is only one of many suicides in the NFL. O.J. Murdock, a 25-year-old wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Recent cases have come to the fore concerning faulty eyewitness ID raising increasing and continuing concern about the error rate of eyewitness ID. This concern dates all the way back to Janet Reno, Attorney General, who appointed a committee of mentalhealth professionals and attorney to evaluate the area of eyewitness ID.

The United States is seeing more and more young men returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with horrendous results in terms of family integration, societal integration, and domestic violence. Some of these individuals, according to Cernak, are found on the battlefield dead with no marks whatsoever on them.

The problem of false confession is alarming. Just after publication by Barry Scheck in his text on and his writings on DNA and establishment of the Innocence Project, he found 77 wrongful convictions and individuals wrongfully imprisoned in California.

Police departments across the United States are routinely questioning young children concerning child sexual abuse allegations. Frequently the police are untrained in the correct techniques to utilize for investigating interview of the children.

Dr. Norman R. Klein is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist who has been in private practice in New York and Westport Connecticut for more than 25 years. Dr. Klein has taught at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Fordham University, Manhattanville College, Fairfield University, and the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center.

A contributor to such publications as Psychological Reports and the Journal of Forensic Science, he received both his M.A. and Ph.D. from Fordham University after earning his B.A. from Syracuse University.

Dr. Klein is a licensed psychologist providing clinical and forensic psychology expert testimony services throughout the New York, Westport, Connecticut, and Massachusetts tri-state area. He provides services to courts and attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense. Dr. Klein's cases include forensic psychology evaluations related to:

Marcel O. Ponton, PhD, has over 25 years of experience in the field of Psychology. He specializes in the Neuropsychological Assessment and treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury patients and patients with Psychological Trauma.

Dr. Ponton continues to treat brain injury and trauma survivors in his private practice. He has extensive expertise in the assessment of Spanish-speaking patients. He is a published author, Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA, and Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Litigation Support - Over the past 22 years he has served as an expert witness, Dr. Ponton has executed hundreds of evaluations and been retained for his expertise over 300 times. He has testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator over 40 times. Dr. Ponton's services include neuropsychological assessments, psychological assessments, report writing, medical records review, consulting, and assessment of children and adults.

Glen D. Skoler, PhD is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with over 25 years of experience in court evaluations and testimony. Dr. Skoler is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. He has been qualified as an expert witness in clinical and forensic psychology in several state courts and in Federal U.S. District, military, and immigration courts. Dr. Skoler's clinical psychology practice also provides psychotherapy and psychological testing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Dr. Skoler's forensic psychology practice provides court evaluations, testing and expert witness testimony in criminal, civil, juvenile court, military, immigration, employment, and domestic relations cases. State and Federal court cases are accepted from around the nation, particularly in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, as well as the tri-state area of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. His services are offered equally to defense, prosecuting, county, family law, and civil litigation attorneys.

Dr. Skoler's additional specialized areas of expertise include political and relationship-related threatening and stalking, false confessions, abuse allegations and interstate and international child abduction/retention cases. Dr. Skoler served as a contributing author and expert panel member for the ABA's Benchbook on Psychiatric and Psychological Evidence and Testimony. He has consulted with or presented to the Federal Judicial Center, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Senate Chaplain, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the American Bar Association and CIA/NSA psychology staff. He has published or been cited in the Washington Post, NPR, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Huffington Post, CBS 48 Hours and on NBC and Fox news affiliates.

Ray S. Kim, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Forensic Psychologist. Dr. Kim is also a Board Registered Mental Illness / Substance Abuse Provider, Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association, Diplomate of the American Board of Psychological Specialties, Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, and Fellow of the American College of Advanced Practice Psychologists.

Dr. Kim is currently the Director of Chicago Metropolitan Forensic Services at the Illinois Department of Human Services where he supervises a team of clinical psychologists and social workers who evaluate the placement of individuals into forensic facilities. He also serves as the Director of Clinical Training at Chicago Metropolitan Forensic Services where he developed and supervises a forensic practicum program which provides opportunities for specialized clinical training in the area of forensic psychology.

Litigation Support - Since 2010, Dr. Kim has testified in over 40 cases in both criminal and civil court proceedings. He is sensitive to the nature of legal matters, and provides comprehensive, timely, and professional services.

Dr. Kim's services are available to attorneys or defendants seeking a qualified evaluator to help support a case, or wishing to obtain a second opinion on a legal matter already in progress. He is skilled in utilizing the field of psychology's most up-to-date assessments to provide recommendations for prosecution or defense teams.

Forensic psychological evaluations have become a valuable resource for the criminal justice system by addressing important forensic questions. For instance, assessing risk for violence can help courts make appropriate decisions on issues such as sentencing, granting privileges, and community reintegration. If an individual is assessed to be a high risk for future violence, a judge has grounds to order a more restrictive setting compared to someone who is a lower risk for recidivism. By tailoring court decisions based on accurate psychological evaluations, the community is safer while the defendant's rights are also protected.

When minors violate a criminal statute, they enter the juvenile justice system rather than the adult criminal system. Although differences exist, both court systems recognize the competency to stand trial law. Just like adults, it would be unfair for juveniles to proceed in the legal process if they were deemed incompetent to stand trial because they did not understand the court proceedings against them or could not adequately assist in their defense. The purpose of this book is to educate minors about the juvenile justice system and prepare them for their day in court.

The correctional system has become the largest provider of mental health care in our society. Due to the prevalence of mental disabilities in the criminal justice system, many defendants are found Incompetent to Stand Trial. However, defendants do not usually understand what it means to be incompetent, let alone what to do about it. The purpose of this guidebook is to help defendants better understand why they were found incompetent, what they can do about it, and how to get the best possible outcomes.

Dr. Samuel Romirowsky, PhD is a Forensic Psychologist with over 30 years of clinical experience. He is currently licensed to practice in Newark, Delaware and Media, and Pennsylvania.

Dr. Romirowsky is a member of the American Board of Forensic Examiners, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, American Psychological Association, Pennsylvania Psychological Association, Delaware Psychological Association, and the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1978 and has been in private practice since that time.

Dr. Romirowsky provides expert witness testimony in civil and criminal litigations, industrial accident board litigations, social security administration hearings, child custody evaluations, and parent coordination mediations. He also offers psychological evaluation services for airmen with allegations of misuse of drugs or alcohol under Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. Dr. Romirowsky has served as an independent psychological evaluator and expert witness in hundreds of cases for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Diana Birch, MD, has extensive experience acting as an Expert Assessor and Expert Witness in a variety of Family and Child Care Actions both civil and criminal. She is very experienced in working with young people and families, particularly in child neglect and protection, family disturbance, substance abuse and domestic violence.

For twenty years, Dr. Birch ran a residential assessment unit where she evaluated high risk families, substance and alcohol abuse patients and dealt with an age range from babies to grandparents. She now conducts assessments on an outreach and community basis.

Dr. Birch has also worked with individuals and "private" cases such as custody disputes. The assessment work and medico legal context has meant that over 50 cases are reported on each year with equivalent court appearances. This has been formally evaluated in published work.

Dr. Birch is a:

Member of the Academy of Experts (Checked expert)

Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (for whom she is also an assessor for Paediatric Consultants)

A belief is a conviction adhered to often in the face of factual evidence to the contrary. This paper inevitably represents my beliefs moulded by my experience of working with teenagers in London and tempered by my knowledge of the work of my colleagues.

Children suffer the traumas and injustices of warfare and conflict without the ability to influence or control their circumstances. As refugees they become the flotsam of society drifting from one inhospitable country to another in search of safety. They have been with us for generations, their numbers fluctuating and their distribution changing as the adult world decides who to wage war on next.